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Juveniles Should Be Sentenced As Adults Essay

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Is leniency towards generations safe for society? California teens 16 and older can be sentenced to prison as adults depending on the seriousness of the crime. A person who committed a crime aged 14-15 cannot be in jail past 25. There’s controversy over whether it is fair to sentence juveniles as adults. Some are saying that letting teens rot in prison will be stripping them from life while others argue that allowing teens to serve less harsh sentences is unjust to the victim. Juveniles ages 16-17 years old who commit violent crimes should be tried and sentenced as adults in California. To begin with, teens are intelligent enough to understand wrong from right. Teens develop an understanding of their actions early on in their adolescence. …show more content…

For instance, teens are the most curious age group by nature. Some teens justify their actions by claiming they were only thrill-seeking. If teenagers knew that they wouldn’t get the worst punishment possible, those seeking the “thrill” would be more likely to commit violent crimes. Jennifer Bishop explained how advocating for Juvenile justice is invalidating to victims. Advocates are shunning victims and prioritizing criminals. “The nationwide campaign to end Juvenile Life Without Parole has spent millions of dollars advocating for these convicted murderers to be set free.” (9) By showing support for convicted teen murderers, people brush aside the victims and their family’s trauma. It is inconsiderate to think a teen who was fully capable and took the life of another’s, deserves a lesser sentence because of their age. Some say teens shouldn’t be tried as adults because prisons do more harm than good. Lionel Tate was in prison for years for something he did when he was 15, and his life of crime continued after prison. Lionel’s life choices were guided by his mind. His own decisions landed him in prison and back in prison again. Some people decide to live crime-free lives after prison, it’s all

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955 Words | 4 Pages

The exact definition of a juvenile is a “young person” who has yet to reach their 18th birthday. The average life expectancy of someone living in the U.S. is about 79 years old. Proposition 21 requires juveniles to be viewed and tried as adults, including receiving adult punishment such as a life sentence. If a juvenile receives a life sentence before they reach adulthood, more than three-fourths of their life is gone (“California Proposition 21”). Juveniles don’t even have a fully developed brain and as a result, can’t fully understand the circumstances that they find themselves in.

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743 Words | 3 Pages

Some might agree that, “The juvenile justice system is failing to protect citizens from the surge in violent crimes committed by juveniles. What is needed is a system that protects society from violent juvenile offenders, and efficiently rehabilitates juveniles." (G Garcett) The threat of this harsher punishment will result in lowered juvenile crime rates. Juveniles should be convicted as adults for violent crimes because it is not fair for juveniles to commit big crimes and get away with it so easily.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

There are a lot of juveniles who are committing violent crimes in today's society. Most times you see a juvenile commit a violent crime and an adult turns around and does the same thing. Due to one's age, their consequences are different and it's a good thing because some minors can’t survive in prison. But when one thinks about it juveniles are only doing what they see the adults doing. Juveniles should only be charged as an adult for violent crimes such as rape, murder, and armed robbery.

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842 Words | 4 Pages

In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” published by the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange on Aug 2,2011 the author, Jennifer Jenkins, points out how teen killers should be tried as adults for crimes committed at an adult level. Jenkins states that “... I understand how hard it is to accept the reality that a 16 or 17 year old is capable of forming such requisite criminal intent.” If a the teen intended to kill someone then they should be locked up, but if that was not the intention then they should get the help necessary instead of being locked

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829 Words | 4 Pages

The violent crime rate among juveniles has grown at twice the rate compared to adults in the last two decades (Levitt, 1998). This fact shows that juveniles are constantly being given a slap on the wrist for the crimes adults get sent away for and the violent crime rate would not be inclining at the rate it is if they were processed as adults. Juveniles being processed as adults would decrease the rate due to the deterrence effect. There has been a rise in juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes due to the change in law and policies for juveniles that are less harsh when compared to adults (National Research Council, 2001). Juveniles know that the punishment they will receive for a crime is not harsh which leads them to commit more violent crimes.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).

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619 Words | 3 Pages

Giving consequences to the juveniles not only allows adolescents to understand what is good and wrong but to care for the victims like Bishop-Jenkins, who has lost her beloved sister and her sister’s husband. For instance, Bishop-Jenkins writes in her article “Remember the Victims of Juvenile Offenders”, “Our society is appropriately concerned, as this forum demonstrates, with helping juveniles. Let’s also remember that the victims of violent juvenile crime need just as much of our support.” (Bishop- Jenkins) Although many might think it is cruel to sentence life in prison to adolescents, their action has ended one's life.

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1414 Words | 6 Pages

Many criminals face many different leading factors that push them to murder someone, yet still receive a form of punishment. Juveniles however, may face these same circumstances yet not share the same treatment. If juveniles have special treatment due to their age, it does not seem fair nor serve equal justice, allowing juveniles to believe they'll have more leniency in the court of law and their sentences. However, despite having knowledge of the severity of their crimes and special treatment given due to age

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1392 Words | 6 Pages

When people commit crimes, there should be disciplined no matter what. Juveniles need to learn that their behaviors have consequences. Why should kids be given any less of a punishment for committing the same crime? According to one author, “Taking a life is murder regardless of the age of the offender, and the penalties to be imposed must not discriminate. After all, the victim’s life will never be returned, and the family will permanently lose their loved one” (“7 Top Pros and Cons of Juveniles Being Tried As Adults”).

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1048 Words | 5 Pages

Destiny Ware Mrs.Ortiz ERWC 12 15 February 2023 Juveniles Teens in prison, also called juveniles, tend to have a negative connotation, which is reckless kids who don’t listen and like to break the rules. Some of these juveniles though are kids whose home life wasn’t a place for a child to grow. Juveniles are children who haven't developed the proper habits to deal with their impulses. Rehabilitation can help them, but only and only if they are willing to put in the work to change their mindset.

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1058 Words | 5 Pages

When children and teens commit a violent crime such as murder, courts convict them as adults. This means that children as young as eight have been tried as adults in court. Eventually, these convicts will be housed in jails with adults. Despite the federal law stating that juvenile and adult inmates must be separated, most states do not comply with these rules. Furthermore, a law that varies throughout the states is the age in which courts send the children to adult or juvenile prisons.

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1291 Words | 6 Pages

In our society, crimes are being committed not only by adults but by juveniles as well. By law as soon as a person turns 18 they are considered to be an adult. So what if an adult and a juvenile were to commit the same crime yet were sentenced differently simply based on the fact that one is a child and one is an adult? Juveniles are committing violent crimes just as adults and should be given the equal treatment and sentencing as adults receive. Juveniles aren’t completely ignorant as everyone seems to think.

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964 Words | 4 Pages

Juvenile Justice Should juveniles get treated as adults that’s one of the biggest controversy in our nation now days, with many juveniles committing crimes that are inconceivable according to their age. Judges have the last word on how to treat this young people. Many people argue that “the teens that are under eighteen are only kids, they won’t count them as young adults, not until they commit crimes. And the bigger the crime, the more eager this people are to call them adults” (Lundstrom 87). This is why people can’t come to a decision as how these young people should be treated like.

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760 Words | 4 Pages

Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Teenagers are not perfect, and their irrational behavior can lead to poor decisions that could potentially be dangerous and unlawful. A debate has now occurred for many years that deals with the issue of sentencing teens that have committed serious crimes such as murder and robbery. Many people argue that if juveniles commit these crimes that their punishment should be equal to an adults punishment for serious crimes, but juveniles shouldn’t have to worry about their lives getting ruined. Most juveniles and teenagers do not have enough maturity to survive in the adult prison system, and recent brain development research shows us that teenagers brains are not even close to being finished developing. Therefore, teenagers and youth under the age of eighteen should

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